Creating a Coastal Meadow/Lawn Alternative

Story and photos by Zach Jordan.

I started with an abandoned sod lawn in Capitola that had been taken over by Hypochaeris radicata (hairy cat's ear), Taraxacum officinale (dandelion), Cynodon dactylon (Bermuda grass), Oxalis pes-caprae (sourgrass). In the summer/fall it was quite ugly; just a sparse cover of dry weeds providing no value to wildlife or people.

In the late fall of 2018, I began my native meadow/lawn restoration project. I collected some cardboard boxes for free and covered as much area as I could. Then I added about 1" of topsoil on top of the cardboard. Before the rains I seeded it with yarrow, Trifolium wormskioldii (perennial clover), and Agrostis pallens (seashore bentgrass). Slowly throughout the winter I planted the following from Central Coast Wilds: Agrostis pallens, Achillea millefolium (common yarrow), Phyla nodiflora (lippia), Fragaria chiloensis (Beach strawberry) and Trifolium wormskioldii.

The War on Weeds is far from over, but I have seen tremendous progress within just one year. The lawn was mostly green all summer and fall and only needed to be irrigated a couple times during the hot, dry months for establishment. So far my mission to create a drought-tolerant meadow-y lawn that can handle moderate disturbance and use has been a success.